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It’s that time of year again when many of you are choosing your modules for the next academic year. Decisions, decisions, decisions….What will I enjoy? What am I interested in? What am I good at?

Have you thought about how your module choice will help your future career? Have you thought about choosing a career management skills (cms) module?

For a number of degree programmes – single honours maths, all BA(Econ) courses and many courses in the faculty of humanities, you can opt to study for a career management skills module. An excellent opportunity to gain academic credits and help your future career at the same time!

Here are 3 good reasons why taking a cms module is a great idea:
• CMS courses are delivered by the careers service and key graduate employers. It’s a great opportunity to find out first-hand what recruiters look for in their graduates and how to get-ahead in their recruitment processes and the graduate job market in general.
• Employers look for a good degree, but also for key practical skills such as leadership, communication and team working. Have you thought about how you are going to provide evidence of these skills when applying for jobs in the future?
As part of the module, you may work on a group project for an outside organisation which will provide some real evidence of these practical skills to add to your CV. Previous projects have included: event management for a local charity, researching ‘user’ satisfaction for a community group, devising marketing materials for arts and sports organisations. CMS will also help you to sell these skills effectively on your CV or in application forms and in interviews or assessment centres
• It’s assessed by 100% coursework so no exams! You will get extensive feedback on your graduate level CV and cover letter and attend workshops on Interviews, Assessment Centres, Career Choice plus many more.

You will need to confirm your eligibility with your course administrator. Many final year as well as second year students have been given approval to take cms modules in the past.

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We all know that those prepared to leave things till the last minute sometimes pick up the best deals, it’s positively encouraged!

However there are loads of things best not left till the last minute. Sorting out things that affect your future is one of them.

Hindsight is a marvellous thing.
Graduates always tell us “if only I had known earlier” or “if only I had done that earlier it would have been so much easier”. We are so busy dashing through our lives making plans; to go out, meet for coffee, go on holiday etc, that we rarely make time to think about our future. It’s often something we would prefer not to think about.

When things don’t go to plan it can make dealing with the situation rationally and effectively quite difficult.

So give yourself a little time.

If you see a job you want to apply for make sure you seek help well before the deadline.

Don’t send applications on the deadline anyway – you may press send before 5pm but if the server doesn’t actually send it for several hours you may miss out.

If you are graduating or going home for the holidays you don’t need to panic about having an appointment that day. We are open in the vacations and can set up telephone appointments for those out of the area.

If are sure you are going to fail your exams, there are probably reasons behind this. Seek help from academic advisers, the counselling service and careers as soon as you feel unsure or stressed. We may not be able to fix the problem but we can help you evaluate your options.

Got a deadline coming up – like a date to pick modules or submit coursework by? Think there might be issues? Take action early, you may have to book appointments with academic staff and they may refer you to other services such as Careers. The process is never as quick as you think it will be.

Employers can surprise you by offering you an interview at the last minute but it is rarely next day. Ask the information team for help on how to prepare – no appointment needed!

It’s generally a lot less stressful if you can take a few minutes to plan in advance. The new semester starts in just 33 days so why not:

Check to see if any of the graduate or placement schemes you are interested in are open yet.

Have a careers appointment to start clarifying your ideas.

Check over your CV and update it with activities and experience from this summer.

Start researching sectors and roles you might be interested in, find out what the entry routes and typical employers are.

There are still some short term vacancies for over the summer, so if you don’t yet have any work experience sorted yet, then check out what is still available and apply before it is too late! Work experience of even a few weeks can give you an opportunity to develop your skills for both continuing your degree studies and preparing you for a job after your course.

Some companies offer up to four week placements or even part time work, which in some cases is longer term and could fit around your studies. Look through a variety of sources including local newspapers, job websites, through your own contacts or contacting employers direct, as well as firstly checking vacancies on the University’s CareersLink website.

One example of a current summer internship for undergraduates is:

Journalist Student Internship with the Red Army on CareersLink, Ref: 14089.

There are 10 part time Journalist positions available. This role needs interns who are inquisitive, excellent at writing for magazines and the web, relating with all kinds of different people, as well as having a cool head under pressure and absorbing information quickly. As the Red Army is a publication for Manchester United, it is important for this role to have an interest in the football club and football in general.

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